Casual Sex? — Never have the 1980s felt so painfully time-warped. This 1988 movie, which was directed by Geneviève Roberts and adapted by Wendy Goldman and Judy Toll from their stage play, is proof as to why we've rarely he... more &raquoard their names again. Casual Sex? is an oxymoron of a title that chronicles the plight of two best-friends-since-childhood who are suffering from celibacy in the AIDS-addled '80s. One, Stacy (Lea Thompson), misses the easy promiscuity of the past though she longs for a guy who is a true friend. Melissa (Victoria Jackson from Saturday Night Live) has only had sex with two men--the second of whom was her fiancé, and she longs for her first orgasm. When they decide to take a holiday to the Oasis Spa in order to find some nice guys, they have little notion that they're about to find the wrong Mr. Right(s). Combine the tired premise with some asides to the screen (that probably worked better on stage) and a couple of role-playing fantasies, and Casual Sex? is proof that a movie on this topic might be written by women, but it still might not have anything new or groundbreaking to reveal. Casual Sex? ultimately pairs one of its protagonists with comic Andrew Dice Clay, who plays a Jersey thug named "The Vin Man," and it's embarrassing to watch him mug his way through the film. With such lines as "You and I have more in common now that we're both afraid of sex" and "Not being attracted to anybody scares me more than AIDS," viewers will wonder if these two have a brain in their heads at all. They ultimately come across as less than enlightened about sex and love and seem--along with the movie itself--more than a little desperate. --Paula Nechak Cold Comfort Farm

This hilarious spoof on British costume dramas based on great literature stars Kate Beckinsale (Much Ado About Nothing) as a strong-willed, young woman named Miss Flora Poste, who finds herself orphaned and without means in the 1930s. Moving in with some half-savage relatives on a country farm, Flora is hardly daunted by their primitivism (as she might have been in a novel by Thomas Hardy) but instead takes charge and imposes hygiene, order, and good manners on the dirty, superstitious lot. John Schlesinger directs this brisk, infectious adaptation of the 1932 novel by Stella Gibbons. Beckinsale is wonderful, and the rest of the savvy, inspired cast perfectly send up a host of literary clichés. --Tom Keogh&laquo less

Movie Details

Movie Reviews

"I'll add my complaint to the others who find that bundling Cold Comfort Farm with another movie I don't want is stupid!"

Don't put Cold Comfort Farm in a two for one package!

Julie Miller | Wurzburg, Germany | 05/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have already seen the wonderful gem of a movie, Cold Comfort Farm, but will not order it from Amazon on DVD since it comes only with the stupid movie, Casual Sex. What is Amazon thinking?! Please offer Cold Comfort Farm as a single DVD, since it more than stands alone in quality!"

You guys have it all wrong....

C. A Baker | 07/18/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe that they packaged Casual Sex? with Cold Comfort Farm. All I want is my own copy of Casual Sex, but I am forced to buy Cold Comfort Farm? Who's even heard of this movie? Please..."

I already have Casual Sex, so two-pack is problematic 4me2.

Natalie Snortman | Asudi, ID, USA | 02/05/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I already have CASUAL SEX and sort of partially like it (the movie that is), so that adds me to the list of those somewhat perplexed by this two-pack offer. Since some reviews were written, saying that COLD COMFORT FARM is offered only in this two-pack, it seems now amazon.com has started offering it separately, and that is an improvement. If a (possibly apocryphal) story that I heard is true, this isn't the first time that CASUAL SEX has been inconveniently coupled with another movie. According to the story, a guy went to a video store, hoping to rent CASUAL SEX and also NUTS, the latter starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfus. He asked the clerk "Do you have NUTS?" She responded, "No." He asked, "Do you have CASUAL SEX?" and she answered, "Not with anyone who had to ask if I have nuts!" Anyhow I've gotten into re-viewing COLD COMFORT FARM, after I saw the recently-released ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. The latter convinced me that Kate Beckinsale (pronounced Kate book-INNS-a-lee) is an actress worthy of a second look. She was captivating in that most successful and faithful big-screen transfer I've seen of that Alice-In-Wonderland sequel. So now that she has name recognition to me, I'm hoping to find COLD COMFORT FARM worth a second look, on her account, especially since I saw one review that called Kate that film's "saving grace". My first viewing of CCF, when it was new, would make me think it NEEDED a "saving grace". It seemed mainly mean-spirited and unfunny to me at the time. But now with Kate Beckinsale to better appreciate and focus on, I may get out of the film what I might have missed then, and see what all the fuss is about. If I do find Kate a "saving grace" to the film, then I can call it worthwhile that amazon seemingly now offers the film separately for those who either already have CASUAL SEX or don't want to."

Sort of agree

C. A Baker | Santa Rosa CA United States | 08/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While I agree that the packaging of these two seems really out of place, I happen to actually enjoy both of these films so it's more because the combination just doesn't make sense to me than anything else.
CCF is by far a superior film and is absolutly hilarious..."I saw something nasty in the woodshed!" And not to mention it was my first chance to see Rufus Sewell, a simply wonderful actor. Along with Kate and all the others this is simply one of the oddest films I've ever seen.
CS is very funny to me, I saw it ages ago when it was a new film and not so dated and it was just so funny. It was my first time seeing Andrew Dice Clay and I have to say I found him funny and quite charming by the end of the film. Full of cliches but done with a sense of humor and heart I really enjoy this film."